New Orleans City Council endorsement appears to have racial component

Mayor Mitch Landrieu never made direct reference to the touchy subject of the New Orleans City Council's white majority Thursday as he endorsed former Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis in the April 21 runoff to fill an at-large seat on the city's legislative panel. But it was clear by what he did say that the thorny issue of race was a key factor in his decision to choose Willard-Lewis, who is black, over her white opponent, Councilwoman Stacy Head.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu, former Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis

"I need someone who's going to be a partner with me to represent all of the people of the city of New Orleans," Landrieu said to a cheering crowd of more than 100 gathered at the New Orleans Healing Center on St. Claude Avenue.

As a white mayor of a city that is 60 percent black, Landrieu has to walk a fine line in matters of race.

Presented as he was with an opportunity to help restore the longstanding black-white balance in the council's two at-large positions that was lost five years ago, some political observers viewed the move by Landrieu as the smart one as he approaches the midpoint of his four-year term.

Asked about it after the event, Landrieu didn't dispute that notion.

"I'm a politician. And so I'm not going to pretend that I don't think about political things," he said. "I always do. And there are important strategic factors that you always consider. But it really does always come back to, at this point in time, given this choice, what is the best choice for all of the people of the city of New Orleans."

There had been growing speculation that Landrieu might stay neutral in the contest, and some political donors who support both Landrieu and Head reportedly lobbied the mayor to take a pass.

More than once Thursday, Landrieu made a point of saying that he likes both candidates. He called his decision "a very tough choice," adding that "doing nothing has its risks."

But while he noted that Willard-Lewis crossed racial lines in 2006 to back him in his failed bid to oust incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin, Landrieu never addressed the disagreements he has had with Head during the past two years.

At one point during his address to Willard-Lewis' supporters, Landrieu said he has complete confidence that she will fully support his reform agenda.

"And that requires us ... to reach across, to not divide, to find common ground," he said, without mentioning Head. "It doesn't come easily to all of us. It may be a new practice for some of us."

Asked later to contrast his relationships with Head and Willard-Lewis, Landrieu said: "We're in the business of making laws together. And so we all have rough elbows. Everybody in this business is tough. And I've had my rough and tumble with Cynthia, and I've had it with Stacy.

"But at the end of the day, it's sometimes really a gut check on who's the easiest to work with. If you're going to climb a mountain together, you know, you want to go with the person that's going to partner with you."

Looking ahead, he said he believes the city will benefit if Willard-Lewis wins the at-large seat and Head continues to represent District B.

"Stacy will still be on the council for two years," he said. "And I look forward to her zeal, which she has a lot of, to really aggressively continue to work with me as she has in the past."

Asked whether he intends to help raise money for Willard-Lewis -- who was outspent 10-to-1 by Head in the primary -- Landrieu said fundraising has not been his standard practice for candidates he backs.